(CNN) - The Internal Revenue Service deliberately targeted groups with "tea party" in their names and who were applying for federal tax exempt status, delaying processing of their applications and requesting unnecessary information, according to an advance copy of a report by the agency's inspector general obtained Tuesday by CNN.

The report found that for more than 18 months beginning in early 2010 the IRS developed and put in place a policy that used "inappropriate criteria" to identify potential political applications and then forwarded those applications to a team of specialists for review.